This solution produces optimal (sub)-hourly generation schedules and energy bids, for all (e.g., 10) trading blocks, for the ISO. Optimization objective is to maximize net profit from electricity generation and bidding sales to the ISO. Applicable to real-time and day-ahead markets. Take full advantage of arbitrage and market opportunities arising from price movements in volatile electricity spot markets, and the stack of bids and offers.

This solution delivers all you need within the same dashboard: real-time generation and bidding optimization, trading, bidding, scheduling, weather and ISO nodal data, load, price and offer stack forecasting.

Who Can Benefit

Optimization Made Easy

Increase profit by a staggering 20%, via real-time (sub)-hourly power portfolio generation and bidding optimization. No need to be a fortune 500 utility to afford this. Ready-for-use cloud or on-site solutions, for small to large entities.

Solution and Benefits to Clients

QR Generation & Bidding Optimizer™ goes well beyond unit commitment whose objective is to solely minimize generation cost irrespective of market prices, or planning tools which produce average generation plans. The objective of our optimization is to maximize net profit from generation and bidding to the nodal spot market of an ISO.

Unlike long-term fuzzy planning tools, our solution determines highly accurate optimal generation schedule and bids to the ISO, when used in real-time or DA trading. Traders can continually adjust, in real-time and every period, their bids to the ISO, to take full advantage of arbitrage and market opportunities arising from price movements in volatile spot markets and availabilities in the offer stack. This increases net generation profit by upwards of 20%.

QR Bidding & Scheduling™ is a real-time electricity trading and scheduling platform integrating key functionalities. A single bidding and scheduling dashboard allows to view, edit and submit energy and reserves bids to the ISO, starting with the optimal bids as initial values. This live web-panel provides also real-time business intelligence by displaying load and price forecasting, trading performance analysis comparing the dispatch, MQ and P&L of actual and optimal bids to the ISO.

Key Functions and Apps

Generation Optimization

Maximize (sub)-hourly profit from generation and buying-selling in ISO or bilateral markets.

ISO Solutions

QR Generation OptimizationTM

Unrivaled real-time (sub)-hourly ISO bidding optimization, scheduling, data, analytics, load and price forecasting and performance analysis, all within the same dashboard. The solution is applicable in real-time and DA trading with high precision. It is also a great solution for long-term planning.

We maximize electricity generation's net profit by dynamically increasing generation or substituting it with real-time buy-sell orders, in spot or bilateral markets, subject to all operational and ramp constraints.

Eliminating downside risk. For forward periods when the forecasted spot price is projected to be lower than the plant's total power generation cost, optimization minimizes generation, subject to ramp, and buys from the spot market to satisfy its committed load on the sales side. This also minimizes unnecessary wear and tear.

Capturing upside market opportunities. For forward periods when the forecasted spot price is projected to be higher than the plant's total power generation, optimization ramps up to maximize generation and sales into the spot or bilateral markets.

Hydro generation. We model hydroelectricity generation as portfolios of discreet constrained and path dependent (sub)-hourly time-spread call options on the spot price; subject to constraints such as water release, schedules and ramping.
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QR Bidding OptimizationTM

Unrivaled real-time (sub)-hourly ISO bidding optimization, scheduling, data, analytics, load and price forecasting and performance analysis, all within the same dashboard. The solution can be used with high precision in real-time and DA trading. It can also be used for long-term planning.

A key challenge generators face is to extract every possible economic value from the market by dynamically adjusting their bids in multiple bands or blocks. E.g., 10 blocks in an ISO. Static sets of bids without the knowledge of an accurate nodal price forecast and its effect on the entire ISO offer stack are only partially successful. Some are missing the marginal bid, falling too short or too long, leading to opportunity costs and trading losses. This solution eliminates these errors with high precision trading optimization.

QR Bidding Optimization™ is integrated with QR Generation Optimization™. Together they determine the optimal generation levels for forward periods including the ramping shoulders and the corresponding optimal bids (across multiple bands) that maximize net profit from generation and sales in the ISO’s nodal spot market. This is simultaneously achieved for all forward periods, starting from the next trading period, going a few days forward. The model runs in real-time for intraday trading and DA bidding.

The model cleverly manages downside periods when the forecasted spot price is projected to be lower than its total generation cost, i.e., periods when the plant is projected to be out of the money. Optimization lowers generation by placing high enough bids in order to avoid losses, and buys from the spot market to satisfy the bilateral sales, if any. In doing so, the spot price may rise and this effect is included in the model. Bidding optimization is path dependent and forecasts several periods forward. When there are forward opportunities to be made it will place low enough bids to run the plant, possibly at a loss, to achieve upcoming optimal ramping. When it is possible to increase prices the bidding optimization lowers dispatch by placing high enough price bids for some blocks.

The model captures very well upside market opportunities in forward periods when the forecasted spot price is projected to be, or can be pushed, higher than the total generation cost, i.e., the plant is projected to be in the money. It is optimal to generate to maximum capacity subject to all constraints, satisfy all existing bilateral contracts, and then sell for profit to the ISO. The extra profit is due to the generation quantity exceeding the bilateral sales commitment. By increasing generation, the spot price may fall, and this effect is accurately modeled. Bidding optimization can act as a market taker by under bidding some competitors and placing bids below the forecasted marginal bid to ensure higher dispatch quantity. It can also act as a market maker and increase market prices by taking calculated risk and placing some bids, albeit of smaller quantities, at higher prices.

QR Bidding & SchedulingTM

One integrated real-time trading, bidding and scheduling platform offering business intelligence as well as optimal trading, bidding and scheduling command and control capabilities.

QR Bidding & Scheduling Dashboard™. A real-time (sub)-hourly bidding and scheduling dashboard integrating all relevant data: actual and forecast nodal price, optimal, nominal and standing bids and offers for energy and reserve ancillaries. Traders can start with the optimal bids suggested by the system, or any other bid type, modify, validate, approve and submit these electronically to the ISO, with a click of the mouse.

QR Real-time Performance Analysis Panel™. This computes (sub)-hourly position and detailed nodal P&L (nodal sales, fuel and other costs) of each generation nodes, in real-time at every period. Results are gathered in a live web Trading and Performance Analysis Panel. P&L valuation is performed with an eye to performance analysis, comparing the optimal as suggested by the optimization, dispatched by the ISO, and actual confirmed meter achieved by traders, as every hour rolls. In one glance, traders can compare the different generation and bidding scenarios before making their bidding decision. Management is provided with real-time visibility and performance analysis of trading.

QR Real-time Analytics Data Panel™. A live web Data Panel displays (sub)-hourly ISO actual and forecast data across all nodes and trading hubs of interests. Actual data comes up to current period while forecast covers forward periods. The panel displays data in visual plots and tabular format, across every period.

Electricity Portfolio Optimization Methodology

World-class team combining over half of century of expertise in modeling electricity markets, applied mathematics, optimization and cloud supercomputing.

Detailed modeling of thermal, hydro, storage and solar power plants. Generation level dependent ramp-up-down rates and nonlinear heat-rate curves for thermal power plants, and water to power conversion curves for hydro plants. Operational constraints and outage. The above lead to complex path dependent optimization problems with nonlinear objective function and constraints, whereby generation decisions at any period impact the remaining generation options for subsequent periods. Consequently, consecutive periods are optimized together, based on precise short-term price and offer stack forecasts.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to use this Optimization Solution?

The key inputs to generation and bidding optimization are price and stack of bids forecasts. We offer very accurate forecasts in short-term (sub)-hourly intraday or DA, which we recalculate every trading period, around the clock. Our Generation and Bidding Optimization solutions thus generate precise optimal scenarios, leading to maximal profits with a high degree of accuracy when used dynamically every (sub)-hourly period, intraday or DA.

The entire runtime of our solution, from the time data is fetched from the ISO to computing optimal generation and bids for the next 24 hours, takes under a minute. This exceptional speed enables traders to use the solution dynamically in real-time trading to extract every possible economic value from the market.

What type of power plant is optimizable?

Optimization requires generation flexibility, which largely depends on ramping ability. Faster ramping plants are more suitable for optimization. On the cost side, optimization is more valuable for plants with high fuel costs. These can be merchant or committed to some load contracts.

Any generation MW quantity that can be ramped up / down in 2 hours and whose bidding to an ISO you control can be optimized. Gas, oil and hydro plants are prime candidates for optimization.

Can a generation asset under contract be optimized, or just merchant plant?

All generation assets can be optimized, whether merchant or contacted. If your plant is 500 MWh, and 300 MWh are under bilateral contracts, it is the whole 500 MWh that can be optimized, and not just the 300 MWh.

For periods when the asset is in the money, it is optimal to generate to maximum capacity subject to all constraints, satisfy all existing bilateral contracts and sell for profit to the ISO. The extra profit is due to the generation quantity exceeding the bilateral sales commitment. By increasing generation, the spot price may fall, and this effect is accurately modeled.

For periods when the price forecast is lower than generation cost and the asset is out of money, optimization lowers generation to the extent possible to avoid losses, and buys from the market to satisfy the bilateral sales. In doing so, the spot price may rise and this effect is also modeled.

Next Generation Dual Cloud On-site Platform

Leverage next generation dual-use cloud on-site architecture. QR Cloud is a live 24/7 supercomputing platform with a vast array of ready-to-use models and templates. You can select, download and customize any configuration from QR Cloud in your own instance, whether on-site or on QR Cloud.

QR System is a single universal software for all on-site and QR Cloud instances, and is upgraded quarterly free of charge. Actual clients’ implementation are configured in a database, which is portable from QR Cloud to on-site.

QR Cloud is ideal for medium size players. No software installation, IT infrastructure, resources or efforts required. All you need is a browser.

Private Cloud or on-site are for entities wishing to control data and processes.

New Commercial Paradigm

Whether on the cloud or on-site, no permanent license and hefty initial license fee. Just pay 1 single yearly subscription fee for license, cloud supercomputing, maintenance and on-going upgrades.

Start with an actual Trial to test our platform and the quality of our expert team. Continue if satisfied. Cancel if the Trial fails to meet your expectations.

Ready for use out-of-the-box, no custom development or coding.

Cost-effective speedy implementation via intuitive configuration. Select, download and customize any configuration from QR Cloud in your own instance, whether on-site or on QR Cloud. Save years and millions.

What people say about us?

We were looking for a platform with which we could optimize our nomination patterns even more, automate settlements, accommodate the changing market that is a result of deregulation of the electricity market, all with real-time information. QuantRisk have been able to deliver on all our expectations. The benefits to us and our customers are immense.

Chief Operating Officer, Large Asian Utility

We are very pleased with the functionality and features that QR system provides our utilities in energy trading and management. The system has given us much more control and confidence in managing our energy portfolio and has resulted in lower rates to our customers.

Executive VP & COO, Leading Utility Conglomerate

Need more information?

Our expert team are here to help with any questions you have regarding QR Cloud Services™. Call or email today.